Game Day Recipes From South Africa

When Tamar asked me what we would eat, in South Africa, if we had the equivalent of the super bowl, the first thing that came to my mind, and confirmed by ‘my butcher’, was The Curry Cup Final. This annual inter-provincial rugby match is held in either of the two finalists province. What we would eat, needed no confirmation, most South Africans gather around a braai (Bbq) either before or after any sporting match. The charcoal braai is normally started up at half time and by the end of the match the braai is ready to cook the meat. Just the aroma of boerewors can excite the senses and arouse even the most avid vegetarian’s desire to take just ‘one bite’!

Boerewors in South Africa is mostly served on pap (mielie meal/corn meal) with a tomato and onion gravy. It’s the tomato and onion gravy that most pride themselves on. It’s one of those old, traditional and sometimes secret family recipe’s that’s inevitably shared after a couple of beers.

GLAZED “PAP AND WORS” KEBABS WITH TOMATO AND ONION DIPPING SAUCE

Boerewors (boor-uh-vors) – literally means ‘farmers sausage’ in Afrikaans. A savoury sausage developed by the farmers some 200 years ago. Spiced predominantly with coriander, nutmeg, salt and pepper. If you are unable to get Boerewors then your favourite delicately spiced beef sausage will still do the trick.

Pap ( ‘pup’) is known as mielie meal or maize meal in south Africa. Once this corn meal is mixed with water and boiled until firm (almost like Polenta) it starts taking on it’s characteristic ‘pap’ form.

‘Pap and wors’ served with a savoury tomato sauce is South African food at its most traditional!

This recipe is a simple twist on traditional “pap & wors”. The novelty being that the boerewors and mealie ‘pap’ are threaded onto a stick, glazed and then braaied (grilled on the BBq). The only problem with this finger friendly way of serving the ‘pap and wors’ is the braaier (griller) and his friends stand around the fire chatting, sipping on beers and eating the kebabs before they even get to the table! So you may as well give them the dipping sauce upfront!

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MARINATED CHICKEN BREASTS IN CORNCOB SLIDERS

These corncob muffins became a real hit, quite by accident. We were going to friends for dinner and she had asked me to bake some of my corncob muffins for her. They were cooling on the rack whilst I was preparing lunch. It was one of those chilled Sundays when a ‘few extra friends’ arrived for lunch. So out came some extra chicken but we were a little short on the bread rolls. ‘What about these” said my son pointing to the corncob muffins ‘Corn goes well with chicken, let’s try’. Needless to say there were plenty of rolls left over and a couple of crumbs from the muffins.

Did I make another batch for my friend? Of course, in fact I always double up on them now and we even serve them covered in tomato and onion gravy as an accompaniment to boerewors as well.

Enjoy these South African classics to give your guests a real treat this year.